Over 50 years of property industry experience

From humble beginnings to becoming one of Australia's leading property developer and home builder has been an interesting journey for Bert Dennis.

The second youngest of five children, Bert was raised in rather impoverished conditions by his mother. By the time he was thirteen, he had lived in fifteen different houses and by the time he finished school at 21, he had gone to 19 different schools.

Bert looks back on this time as allowing him to make his own way and fend for himself. He says it also taught him from an early age to be very self reliant, determined and capable. If he wanted something he had to either make it himself or repair someone elses' cast off.

A passion and keen ability in baseball and the desire to be part of the Victorian State Under 17 Schoolboy Baseball Side was a driving force behind Bert finishing his education and then a Diploma in Civil Engineering. Bert still has an interest in baseball and is a Life Member of the Coburg Baseball Club.

Bert met Dawn Hicks in 1955 in and 1958 they were married. The couple have four children - Adele, Grant, Natalie and Marshall.

It was whilst working at the Heidelberg City Council in 1956 that Bert realised what he wanted to do was become a Consulting Engineer. In order to achieve this goal, his plan was to continue at night school, pass the exams to be qualified to become a Municipal Engineer, gain the necessary four years engineering experience (six months of which had to be structural) reach 24, then progressively become a Shire Engineer, Deputy City Engineer, City Engineer at 40 years of age, make a lot of contacts, and then become a Consulting Civil Engineer.

However as good luck, good timing and a lot of front would have it, Bert became the Acting Deputy City Engineer and then Deputy City Engineer with the City of Chelsea.

At just 22, this put him in the position he has wanted to be in by the time he was 35 years of age.

Bert began the journey of what is today the Dennis Family Corporation in April 1960 when he joined Oscar Flight, a retired City Engineer, in a civil engineering consultancy partnership.

Bert's first foray into property development involved the progressive purchase, renovation and eventual sale of 12 houses in Melbourne.

In 1965, Bert's business partner retired, and Bert and Dawn purchased the company outright putting Bert in the position of owning a consulting practice at just 29 - many years ahead of his original plan. In 1968 Bert embarked on his first small scale land development, with no partners - a 3ha parcel in Ringwood.

Over the years, the company has had several well-known home building brands, has developed hundreds of hectares of land into residential communities, has had business ventures in China and New Zealand, has built two shopping centres and has is part of many joint ventures involved in such things as retirement villages.

The past 50 years of business and more than 70 years of life for Bert Dennis have been filled with many successes. Bert now proudly holds the position of Founding Chairman and is joined in the company by three of his adult children and several of his eleven grandchildren. The fourth of which concentrates on his farming activities. A 100 percent family-owned business, the Dennis Family Corporation has 12 offices in Victoria, NSW and Queensland and homes on display in 18 display locations across Metropolitan Melbourne, Regional Victoria and Southern NSW. The Dennis Family Corporation is the parent company of Dennis Family Homes and is project manager for several masterplanned residential estates. In Victoria, the company project manages Manor Lakes in Wyndham Vale, Rose Grange in Tarneit, The Hunt Club in Cranbourne and Archers Field near Shepparton. In Queensland the company manages Northquarter and Northquarter Place at Murrumba Downs, Huntington Rise near Helensvale, and Pioneer Valley, south of Brisbane.

Read more about Bert's story in the attached articles:

Issue 16 of Residential Developer Magazine. (This file is 1.4Mb - PDF will open in a new window)

Herald Sun Home Magazine Saturday 16th October 2010. (This file is 937Kb - PDF will open in a new window)